Heat-generating cartridge



June' 24, 1924;

H J HABER HEAT GENEBATING CARTRIDGE Patented .ame 24, 1924.

HENRY JOHN HABER, DFL CLEVELAND, OHIO.

HEAT-GENERATING CARTRDGE Application led April 2, 1923. Serial No. 629,282.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY J. HABER, a citizen of the United "States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Heat-Generating, Cartridges, of which the following is 'a full, clear,'and exact description.

The inventionrelates to a heat generating cartridge for use in reestablishing ,the flow of oil wells in which the f'low of oil has become obstructed -by deposits of paraflin in the oil bearing sands surrounding thebottom portion of the well.

,The present invention isgan improvement over the heat generating cartridge disclosed in my c-pending application for a method and apparatus for clearing oil wells, Serial No. 575,313, led July 15, 1922.

. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat generating cartridge which can b e lowered through a considerable depth of oil into the water at the bottomof the well without permitting oil to become mixed with the chemicals within the cartridge prior to the entry of water thereto.

A further object is to provide a cartridge having an enclosing wall formed of material which will upon addition of water to the materials contained therein react exothermically with said materials, the wall being formed to provide an irregular surface contacting with the chemicals so that there is Va larger surface subjected to chemical action whereby the rate of reaction will be increased. Y

A further object is to provide a cartridge which will withstand rough sage and wi l not be -damaged or rendered ineffective by the handling thereof incident to shipping and storing.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawin The following description and accompanying drawings set forth in detail certaln means embodying the invention, they disclosed means, however, constituting but one of the .various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be employed. A

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which Fig. 1 is a side ele-A vationr of the cartridge partially broken away to show parts thereof in section; Fig.

2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional viewshowlng the lower portion of an oil well.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the cartridge has an outer cylindrical enclosing member or container 1 formed of sheet metal preferably aluminum. The container 1 has upper and lower heads 2 and 3 which are provided with central openings. The opening in the lower head is provided with a removable closure member 4 and the opening 5 in the upper head 2 is preferably provided with a similar closure member to protect the contents of the container during shipment and during the handling thereof .prior to actual use. Within the cylindrical container 1 is an inner cylinder 6 formed of aluminum and extending substantially the .full length of the cylinder 1. The innerl cylinder 6 is filled with materials which upon addition of water will react exothermically with the -aluminum of the cylinder to generate intense heat for melting down the paraffin deposits surrounding the lower portion of an oil well. The material with which the cylinder .6 is filled is preferably a mixtureof a hydrate of an alkali metal and aluminum in a finely divided form such .as powder or filings, together with a suitable catalytic agent. In order to provide a greater area of contact between the cylinder 6 and theV materials contained therein, the cylinder 6 is provided with circumferential beads 7 forming circumferential corrugations from one end to the other of the cylinder. The `cylinder 6- has diametrically opposite holes 8 therein adjacent the toprin which a bail 9 maybe fitted to which the hoist line for lowering the cylinder into thewell -may be attached. The upper and lower ends of the cylinder Gare closed by means of plugs which when subjected to the action of water are grad- `ually rendered ineffective and will after la short time allow the water to penetrate into the interior of the cylinder. These plugs are 'preferably in the form of hollow papier mch balls which fit tightly within the ends of the cylinder and hold the material 12 which fills the cylinder in place. The lower ball 12 is preferably filled with the same material that is packed within the cylinder 6. The upper ball 10 is preferably empty and has an opening 13 1n the top thereof which permits the ball to he filled with water before the` cartridge is lowered into the well. The. inner cylinder 6 is of somewhat smaller diameter thanA the outer cylinder 1 so that an annular chamber 14'-y lis provided between the cylinder 6 and the and the papier mch balls 10 and 11 which have already been softened by the water already in the cartridge, will soon be ren-f dered ineffective and permit the water to flow freely into" the material packed within the cylinder 6. The addition of water to the material within the cylinder causes a chemical reaction between the materials contained in the cylinder and between this material and the material of the wall of the cylinder, the reaction causing intense heat to be generatedand gradually destroying the cartridge. The heat s'o generated is sufficientY to melt down paraffin deposits for a considerable distance on all sides of the well so that a free iow of oil will be reestablished. There is usually -a considerable; body of oil above the ,water at the bottom of the well and the cartridge must be lowered through this layer of oilfbefore it reaches the water. It is essegntial'that the oil bepreventedfrom entering the chemicals within the cylinder since the pressure of oil would materially impede the reaction upon the subsequent entry of waten into the chemicals.

I have provided against the entry of oil into the interior of the cylinder by filling the space surrounding 'the inner cylinder and the space within the lower end of the cylinder 6 around the ball 11 with water prior to the lowering of the cartridge into the well. The balls 10 and 11 will prevent the passage of water into the space between the two balls for a suiiicientlength of time stoenable the cartridge to be lowered through the layer of oil in/the well into the body of water at the bottom thereof. The adual softening ofthe papier mch balls 10 and 11 due to the action of water within the cylinder will, however, shortly after the cylinder has reached the bottom of the well render the balls ine'ective and permit entry of water to the chemicals packed within the cylinder 6.

'Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A heat generating cartridge comprising a tubular container having an opening in theA lower end thereof, an open ended tube within the container-'and spaced from the wall thereof, said tube containing substances which react exothermically upon addition of waterr a closure member for the terial of the inner cylinder, the cylindricalk wall of the inner cylinder being spaced from the Wall of the container and forming therewith an annular chamber adaptedto be filled with water, a hollow papier mch ball closing the lower end of the inner cylinder, said ball being filled with substances which'upon addition of water react exothermically.

3. A heat generating cartridge comprising a cylindrical containerhaving an opening in the lowerend thereof for admission of water,

an open 'ended inner cylinder containing substances which upon addition of water react exothermically, the cylindrical wall of the inner cylinder being spaced from the wall of the container and forming therewith an annular chamber, hollow papier mch balls closing the open ends of the inner cylinder, the ball at the lower end containing substances -which upon addition of water react exothermically.

4. A' heat generating cartridge compris-v ing an outer cylindrical container having an opening in its lower. end through which t.

water may enter, an in-ner aluminum cylinder of smaller diameter within the container and forming therewith an outer anv nular chamber and closure members for the ends of theinner cylinder which are gradually rendered ineffective by the action of water, said' aluminum` cylinder being filled with material the principal constituent of which is a hydrate lof an alkali metal. y

5. A heat generating cartridge comprising an aluminumcylinder filled with material containing a hydrate of an alkali metal and a closure member for the lower end of the cylinder which is adapted to be gradually rendered ineective by the action of water.

6. A -heat generating cartridge comprising a hollow open ended aluminum cylinder formed with indentationsfilled with a mixture containing a hydrate of an alkali metal,l

and closure members for the ends of said cylinder adapted to be gradually rendered ineffective by the action of water.

7. A heat generating cartridge comprising a hollow open ended corrugated aluminum cylinder lled with' a mixture containing a hydrate of an alkali metal and a catalytic agent, and papier mch balls forming plugs for the ends of said cylinder.

8. A heat generating vcartridge comprisian ing a corrugated cylinder formed of aluminum in sheet form, Said cylinder being filled with a mixture containing a hydrate of an alkaliv metal, aluminum in .finely divided form and a catalytic agent, hollow papier mch balls forming plugs for the ends of the cylinder the lower ball being filled `with a mixture similar tothat with which the cylinder is filled.

9. A heat generating cartridge comprising an outer casing having a cylindrical body and end hea-ds` said heads having openings with detachable closure members,

an inner corrugated aluminum cylinder of less diameter than the Wall of the outer cylinder and forming therewith an annular chamber adapted to be filled with Water, and hollow papier mch balls forming plugs at the ends of the aluminum cylinder, said inner cylinder and the lower ball being filled with a mixture containing a hydrate of an alkali metal and aluminum in a linely dividedy form.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto a-iix my signature.

` HENRY JOHN HABER. 

